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The Royal Thai at the Gulf Hotel in
As part of the restaurant’s constant promotional activities and palatable surprises, the festival brings a menu of delicacies crafted by resident Thai Chef Tawatchai Chuto.
Chef Chai arrived in Bahrain six years ago when the hotel was on the lookout for a Thai kitchen master.
“I helped in setting up the building blocks of this restaurant. I have even climbed on the roof to get the work done faster. It took us three and a half years to be successful,” said Chef Chai.
Hailing from the central provinces of Thailand, Chef Chai was never much of a homing pigeon.
He left home at the age of 15 and today at 49 he has more than 15 years of experience in 10 countries across the world spanning Europe, Australia, America and Asia.
“I have always wanted to be a chef. I had an aunt who used to work for the royal family. She used to come visiting twice every year and I would pester her with questions on the food habits of the king. I used to dream that someday I would become a cook in the palace.”
He also developed a curiosity about cuisines beyond Thai – most predominantly by watching Indian and Chinese movies and observing what and how they ate.
In the pursuit of a career, he ran away from home to Bangkok and his first mission was to learn English. He bought a book and asked a Sikh friend to teach him English.
Pattaya was his next destination where he made his first steps into the world of kitchens by dishwashing at an American army base.
He would practice his English every day with the officers and even joined a friend’s musical band as a singer.
His success with mastering the language was mirrored in his success in the kitchen where his cooking talents were quickly recognised. With his new found ‘sophisticated language’ and his growing culinary talent, he began exploring possibilities beyond his homeland.
His first destination was Sri Lanka where he worked as a chef. Chef Chai then followed the ‘silk route’ to China for eight months and then hopped down under to Australia.
His travels also took in Germany, Malaysia and Japan where he spent close to six years. Before boarding America’s biggest cruise liner Victory.
Ireland was his next port of call and he was about to move to Norway when he got the golden opportunity to take flight to the island of pearls and join the Gulf Hotel.
Chef Chai said: “In Royal Thai, we serve original Thai food, however, since not everyone can enjoy authentic Thai we also try and match recipes according to local tastes.”
The major essential in Chef Chai’s kitchen are fresh raw materials.
“We also import every ingredient including rice and even lemon grass from Thailand every day.”
Today he shares one of his favourite recipes with GulfWeekly readers.
Tamarind duck
Ingredients
One handful of cinnamon stick (break into small pieces)
One handful star anise
One handful garlic (whole and peeled)
300g coriander whole (cut in half)
40g whole white pepper (crushed)
300g galangal (thinly sliced)
3kg white sugar
500ml dark soya sauce
750ml Maggi Seasoning Sauce or Golden Label seasoning sauce
300g salt
25ltr water
8 whole duck
Method
1. Boil the water and add seasoning (bring to a boil).
2. Wrap spices and herbs in the thin cloth and tie them (make sure that it will not break – tighten the wrap well) then put into the boiling stock. 3. Defrost the whole duck, trim the rat part and cut half wings and duck bottom off.
4. When the stock is already boiling, reduce the heat, put the duck into the stock pot (head of the duck first) make sure that the whole duck is submerged on the stock.
5. Keep on boiling for about one more hour in medium heat.
6. After one hour, turn off the fire and leave the duck for another 30 minutes on the stock.
7. Remove duck on the pot and let it cool. De-bone.
